Chapter 112: Behind The Mask

As the gate rose, Laurel braced herself for scenes of blood and torture, but the town behind the castle's gates seemed no different than the Imperial City. People walked across the main path and laughed. Old banners hung from the rafters of buildings and children played.
"Eden's returned!" A woman cried with a bright smile. "Welcome back…"
She looked at Laurel and seemed curious as Eden dismounted and the gates closed behind them.
"Good to be back. How have things been?"
"Quiet," she said. "And… your guest?"
"This is Laurel, newly crowned queen and luna of the werewolf kingdom."
She gasped and looked at Laurel fearfully as Eden helped her from the horse. The woman bowed and murmured something Laurel couldn't catch before hurrying away. He led her forward through the city.
"What is this place?"
She glanced around looking for some clue as to what kind of person Eden was. Scents drifted around, familiar and unfamiliar. There were werewolves in the citadel. She glanced up towards the ledges of the buildings and found people sitting there with unnaturally still forms and faintly glowing eyes: vampires.
"I'm sure you're curious," Eden said as the doors to the citadel opened. "Most people can answer your questions. For now, it's nearly time for lunch."
Lunch? Had it just been a day since she'd been taken? It felt much longer.
Eden introduced her to several people under his command. Some she recognized as members of his caravan and others she didn't.
They settled at the large table and started to eat. Laurel was a bit surprised that there was real food at the table. She had imagined a vampire banquet to mostly be of blood, but she couldn't see anyone drinking anything but wine.
"Any news from the south?"
Eden smirked, "Captured and demolished. I already sent word."
The man beside her chuckled, "She'll be furious."
"Not as furious as she will be," Eden took a sip from his goblet. "The king's forces will be crossing the border later today. We'll send a scout group to meet them."
"How many?"
"No more than seven," Eden smirked. "He's likely to run into the caravan from his ministers and stop to deal with that."
"The ministers?" Laurel asked.
Eden smiled at her, "Of course, you didn't think they were above conspiracy, did you?"
"Which minister?"
Eden's lips twitched, "That I can't say, but Gavin likely knew about it. He's one of the only ministers left who have enough money to try to bribe vampires to assassinate the king."
"Would they have succeeded?"
He smirked, "In drawing attention to themselves? Or assassinating Adolph?"
"Assassinating him."
Eden hummed, "Probably not since most of her forces are dead… Their latest attack failed too."
Laurel frowned, "You make it sound like you weren't a part of it."
"Why would a high-born vampire soldier ever mention a half-breed’s part to play in such a scheme?" Eden chuckled. "Their pride will doom them and protect us… besides, I wasn't nor were any of my subordinates… not even the spies."
She had never imagined that the vampire world was so similar to the werewolf one if they had spied on each other.
"And what about the spies that come to watch you?" Laurel asked.
"They're dead or double agents feeding them the information I want them to know." Eden shrugged.
"How can you be so sure of that?"
Eden smiled, "I'll let you figure that out."
Laurel looked down at her food with frustration.
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"Ask around," Eden said. "You'll find that Adolph is a very different leader than Morrigan."
"Morrigan?" Laurel asked.
"Her Majesty, Queen Morrigan Ash of the great and noble vampires…" Eden laughed, "If you want to be formal about it."
She was wary of the abject disdain in his voice before looking at the man beside him.
"Why are you here?"
The man chuckled, "Because listening to this nut job is better than listening to a psycho."
Eden laughed as did most of the group at the table.
"That's the best you can come up with?"
"You got something better for it? You're crazy."
Eden grinned, "I'd like to call it ambitious."
"Crazy," they chorused down the line, and Laurel almost laughed. Despite the circumstances, it was a bit calming to see that Eden had normal relationships with people.
"You called her a psycho…" Laurel said. "What do you mean by that?"
The man lifted an eyebrow before glancing at Eden who looked highly amused. He shrugged briefly.
"She's been on the throne for over a hundred years since she killed her sister for it."
Laurel's eyes widened as they continued. Once, the vampire nation and the werewolf kingdom had been at peace. The war started with the current queen's ambition to increase the landholdings of her throne. She took over the human territories, imposing blood taxes and a social hierarchy that sent a lot of humans fleeing over the border.
The leaders who resisted were all murdered, their children were all turned and made into slaves to the throne until they died.
"The exception was the Wiccan alliance," another said, glancing at Eden for a moment. "It's the only country besides the werewolf kingdom that she couldn't beat."
The witches and wizards of the alliance stood against her, neither advancing nor allowing her to advance, frustrating her to no end.
Then, she changed tactics.
"Vampires have never had magic. She wanted a daughter with magic that she could use to gain an advantage in future battles."
She frowned, "What… sort of advantage?"
Eden smirked, "Magic, Laurel. Like your temple, but wider reaching than that."
Laurel nodded.
"In any case, her campaigns grew bloodier and bloodier. Adolph has been kicking her in the teeth for years, just as his father had."
Laurel eyed them, "You don't seem to have a grudge against the werewolf kingdom…"
They laughed, "We don't… For the most part. The werewolves might."
She looked over to where they gestured, curious. There was a group of five. One with an eyepatch and his hood pulled over his head. He didn't seem to be speaking much. There were two women and two other men, laughing. They seemed happy, relaxed as they joked with one another. A vampire approached them and Laurel expected a fight, but one of the men dragged the vampire down to sit with them with a cheer of joy.
Having grown up knowing the war was waging and the toll it had taken on the werewolf kingdom, she would have never imagined seeing werewolves and vampires getting along like this.
Eden stood, "I've got rounds to make. Keep her out of trouble, yeah?"
"Will do."
Eden flashed her a smile before leaving her with them. Laurel considered her options and figured that the werewolves among Eden's forces were her best options to get out of her. If Eden could compel vampires to obey him, any vampire or half-vampire in the castle could be a hindrance.
But how was she going to convince them to help her?
"So, you're the new luna…" She turned and looked up at them.
"I am…"
They eyed her carefully, "I see. Thank you."
"What?"
"For keeping the hospital open," One of them said. "And the orphanage… My cousin's daughter is there."
Laurel gasped, looking up at them.
"Are you here to help overthrow the queen?"
She frowned, "Why would you think that?"
"She's a truly terrible person."
"You're here?"
Laurel lifted her hands to show the chains.
"You see these?"
They leaned down to look at them curiously and sniffed them. One of them hummed.
"Well, you can't be too careful, I guess."
"Eden put them on you for the good of all of us… It's not like your husband is a nice guy."
"How can you support his cause like this?" Laurel asked. "What about your king?"
All but one of them laughed. One of them shook his head.
"What king? What has Adolph the Invincible done for me or my family?"
"He fought--"
"That's what he's done for his reign. What do his struggles with the vampire queen have to do with me?" She shrugged, "My mother was sold into slavery to a werewolf. She was hunted down and slaughtered by his father's forces… Would you like to know what she did wrong?"
Laurel frowned as she smirked. Her eyes flashed and her fangs glinted as she smiled coldly.
"She was born a vampire and birthed a hybrid child," She chuckled. "I don't blame Adolph for his father's decisions or his hatred, but I have no loyalty to the Raymond line… And him?" She gestured to the young man with the drawn hood and eyepatch beside her. "That idiot heir of his is the reason most of his village didn't make it through last winter."
Laurel's eyes widened as she looked at the young man. His coloring and the little patch of color bearing a familiar crest of a gray ash tree on his shoulder told her a lot, but she had to be sure.
"You're… You're from the Gray Ash pack, aren't you?"
He nodded solemnly as her heart clenched with grief.